January 2023

The following post was originally included as part of our recently published memorandum “Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2023”.

This past year’s Russia-Ukraine conflict sparked a significant transformation of the global economic sanctions landscape, with developments and lessons extending well beyond Russia. 

In 2023, boards of directors should continue to monitor…

On January 5, 2023, President Biden signed into law the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act of 2022 (the “PAIP Act”),[1] bipartisan legislation that authorizes the imposition of sanctions on foreign persons that have engaged in significant theft of trade secrets of U.S. persons.[2] Continue Reading PAIP Act Authorizes Sanctions for Trade Secret Theft by Chinese Actors

2022 did not see as many legislative changes of the German foreign direct investment regime (“FDI Regime“) as in years before. However, several foreign direct investments with a Chinese nexus reviewed by the German FDI authority, the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Action (“BMWK“), attracted public attention in 2022:Continue Reading German FDI Reviews of Chinese Investments in 2022 Confirm the Current Trend – Strict Scrutiny and Political Dimension in Decision Making

In addition to the maritime services ban targeting Russian Federation-origin crude oil, which we wrote about here[1], the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) recently has taken actions related to, and having implications for, the international oil sector.  Certain of those actions suggest a potential easing of oil sector-related sanctions on Venezuela while others show a continued focus on the Iranian oil sector.Continue Reading Recent OFAC Actions Related to the Oil Sector

On December 5, 2022, the maritime services ban targeting Russian-origin crude oil that previously had been announced by an international coalition of countries, including the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom, took effect.  While each coalition member has enacted its own measures to give effect to the ban (as we discussed previously here[1]), the measures enacted by the coalition members are generally consistent and include the same major features, namely, a maritime services ban and associated price cap “safe harbor” or exemption.[2]  Since the effective date of the maritime services ban, Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a decree prohibiting the supply of Russian-origin oil and oil products to certain foreign persons applying the price cap, and OFAC has issued additional guidance relating to the upcoming implementation of the maritime services ban with respect to Russian-origin petroleum products.Continue Reading Recent Developments Regarding the Maritime Services Ban on Russian-Origin Crude Oil and Petroleum Products (with Price Cap “Safe Harbor” or Exemption)

On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (the “Bill”),[1] which allocated approximately $1.7 trillion in federal funding to various government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”).Continue Reading Potential Outbound Investment Screening Regime Receives Federal Funding